‘Late to Love’ by Valerie Pepper
Series: Lucky in Love #3
Published: May 16, 2025
Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: e-book
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Synopsis
She’s a woman with a tool belt and a dream. He’s the grumpy bartender who falls head over heels.
Darcy Belle is full of contradictions. At twenty-four, she’s the beach town’s best carpenter with plans to launch her own custom furniture store online. The only thing she loves more than furniture is irritating the grumpy bartender at her weekly all-female bowling team practice. And when said grump agrees to let her flex her skills by renovating his loft? Life just took a turn for joy, folks.
Anthony Hall has lived a life of consistency and hard work. Owner and bartender at Hall’s Balls, he’s every bit the town grump people think he is. It’s not until Darcy Belle barrels into his life at full tilt, all luscious curves with power tools to boot, that he understands he’s got more to give. A lot more.
Forced to see each other almost daily, Darcy and Anthony slowly realize there’s more to their arguments than meet the eye, despite their seventeen-year age difference. But age is just a number, until years of hurt reveal that Darcy isn’t the one who needs to grow up.
Late to Love is an age gap grumpy-sunshine romcom where he falls first with a guaranteed happily ever after.
My Thoughts
This is my second Valerie Pepper book, and she didn’t disappoint with her latest release, Late to Love, which is book three in the Lucky in Love series. Normally, with Romance books, we see the male lead as the contractor, but this time we see that reversed. It was great seeing a woman being the contractor and using it to make the place he lives truly feel like home and make him a piece that is out of this world.
Now, with Darcy and Anthony, there is a 17-year age gap. I have to say, for Darcy being 17 years younger, she did feel like she was more mature on a few things compared to Anthony and even getting him to work on the family issues he had, she was great in getting him to do that.
Late to Love was a great Romantic Comedy, and it was great to read the story between Darcy and Anthony. This was a pretty average book, so it does get a solid three and a half stars from me. There was a good chunk of spice, along with some of the spice being very spicy. That is going to make Late to Love a Spice Level of four Chili Peppers. I do recommend this book if you are looking for a nice Romantic Comedy and want to change your reading style for a bit.
Late to Love is out now and available wherever you get your books. And if you are a Kindle Unlimited member, Late to Love is part of your membership.
I would like to thank Happily Booked PR and Valerie Pepper for the ARC Copy of this book. Getting the ARC Copy did not influence my thoughts on the book as they are all my own.
